For the fourth time, the Dbam o Zdrowie Foundation awarded aid funds under the 'Together We Can Accomplish More' grant contest. This year's pool of funds was a record-high PLN 2m. On April 30th 2015, the grant winners signed cooperation agreements and received commemorative cheques at an official meeting held at the Łódź Atlas Arena.

Over 100 organisations from all over the country took part in the contest. This year's winners include seven organisations from Łódź − nearly twice as many as last year − including Łódź Archdiocese Caritas, Dom w Łodzi Foundation, Fundacja Służby Rodzinie Nadzieja, Fundacja Udaru Mózgu, Towarzystwo Pomocy im. Św. Brata Alberta Koło Łódzkie, Towarzystwo Przyjaciół Dom na Osiedlu, and Fundacja Równe Szanse. The aggregate value of grants awarded to organisations from Łódź was nearly PLN 50 thousand.

On April 30th 2015, grant winners met at an official meeting at the Łódź Atlas Arena to sign cooperation agreements and receive commemorative cheques.

The 'Together We Can Accomplish More' grant contest is addressed to NGOs such as foundations, associations or other institutions active in the area of healthcare and welfare protection. Thanks to joint projects created with the Foundation's help, beneficiaries of these organisations will receive regular assistance in purchasing medicines and medical products.

The Dbam o Zdrowie Foundation has been open to cooperation with other entities since its inception. In 2010, the Foundation launched the first projects under which it co-financed medicines for patients under the care of its partner organisations. But only after the cooperation took the form of grants awarded through a contest, the project became one of the largest initiatives in Poland devoted to removing barriers in access to medication, in terms of the number of participants involved.

As part of the contest, the Dbam o Zdrowie Foundation provides financing for national or local projects designed to increase awareness of the problem of barriers in access to medication, which remains a vital social issue, and offering direct help for those most in need. The projects entered in the contest should focus on people at risk of social exclusion, for instance the chronically or seriously ill, children, socially isolated people, seniors, the unemployed, people in difficult personal or financial circumstances, who cannot afford to buy medicines and medical products to carry on their treatment.

Governed by the motto 'Together We Can Accomplish More', the initiative is also meant to encourage cooperation between organisations which operate in different environments and locations, but have similar goals and objectives. The Foundation seeks to create a space for mutual exchange of knowledge and experience, which could become a forum for dealing with the issue of barriers to effective treatment in Poland, as well as a force working towards their reduction or even removal.

During the last three editions of the Competition, over 170 organisations from nearly every part of Poland received financial support, which totalled over PLN 7m. Thanks to these efforts, over 30 thousand end beneficiaries could receive aid.
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The Dbam o Zdrowie Foundation was established in 2007 on the initiative of pharmacists from Dbam o Zdrowie pharmacies and with support from Pelion S.A. In 2008, the Foundation was included in the list of public benefit organisations. Its main area of concern has been the fact that some Poles cannot afford to purchase their prescribed drugs, an issue which went unnoticed in the past, as well as problems with access to medication faced by those in a difficult personal and financial situation. The Foundation helps those in need through special gift cards, which can be used to purchase the necessary pharmaceuticals and medical products at pharmacies. This ensures that the assistance will only be used as intended - for medicines and medical products.

For more information, please contact:
Elżbieta Łacina
Vice-President of the Management Board of the Dbam o Zdrowie Foundation
Phone: (+48 42) 200 74 64
Mobile: (+48) 603 940 283
Email: elzbieta_lacina@pelion.eu

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